ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The City of Albuquerque is starting a project to collect residential food waste and compost it.
The food waste will be collected at McKinley Community Center, and local hauler Little Green Bucket will take the compostable material to a commercial compost facility, where it will be turned into finished compost.
Up to 60 households who are members of the community center, Palo Duro 50+ Sports and Fitness Center, or have students enrolled in the nearby elementary or middle school will be able to participate and receive a starter toolkit that will help them divert food waste from the landfill.
“We heard from the community last year a desire for a low-cost and easily accessible way to compost. This method of aggregating food scraps from kitchens to community collection is a great start,” City of Albuquerque Sustainability Officer Ann Simon stated in a news release.
The Natural Resources Defense Council estimates that 112,000 tons of food is wasted in Albuquerque each year. The composting program is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the city and help healthy soils, according to the news release.